A Yarmouthport man who was viciously beaten with a baseball bat in March died earlier this month, which could mean additional charges for his alleged assailant, John Looney.

Richard Steele, 70, died at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston on Dec. 15 from a traumatic brain injury, according to an obituary published in the MetroWest Daily News on Dec. 17. Steele was taken to the hospital by medical helicopter March 23 after being struck repeatedly with a baseball bat. The assault caused multiple skull fractures, according to a police report.

Days after the attack, Looney, 51, of Yarmouthport, was charged with aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, armed assault to murder a person 60 or older, mayhem, and assault and battery on a person 60 or older with serious injury. He was indicted on similar charges in Barnstable Superior Court in May and remains in custody on $250,000 bail.

The Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office is reviewing the case and will decide whether to pursue additional charges before Looney's next court date on Jan. 28, District Attorney Michael O'Keefe said Thursday.

Looney's Boston-based attorney, John S. Day, said he was unaware of any new charges and declined further comment.

The attack happened in the Kings Way Condominium Community in Yarmouthport. Police responded to a general disturbance report March 23 and found Steele lying unconscious in a pool of blood in front of 18 Oak Glen Road, according to the police report.

There was also an injured female victim, who said she had witnessed Steele and another man get into an argument before the beating. The female victim said she tried to intervene, but the man attacked her with the bat, according to police.

Both were taken to Cape Cod Hospital and Steele was taken to Brigham and Women's because of the severity of his injuries. While at the hospital, police learned that another Kings Way resident was being treated for an unknown arm injury, according to the police report.

This person was identified as Looney and after being read his rights, he told police "he gets a lot of stuff from people like the woman and the man," according to the report.

Looney was arrested in 1991 for stabbing and trying to rape a neighbor as she walked home from Grays Beach in Yarmouthport. He was on probation at the time after being convicted of assaulting and attempting to rape a woman in Plymouth.

Looney served a 15-year sentence at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Norfolk for the second conviction of assault with intent to rape. He has been classified by the state as a Level 3 sex offender, which means he's at high risk to reoffend.